Daily Loaf

Is Nathan Drake the best video game character of this console generation? I think he must be. Part Lara Croft and part Han Solo, the star of the Uncharted series for Playstion 3 brims over with goofy, roguish charm and is just the right amount of both badass and smarty-pants. Voice-acted to perfection by Nolan North (who you might remember from every other game in the world), Drake never grows tiresome, holding players’ interests from opening cut-scene to the make-you-want-to-smile/cry final lines of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Add in the equally alluring and well-acted characters of Elena, Chloe, and Sully combined with action and graphics worthy of a mega-budget movie, and you get one of the best games of the year.

Uncharted 2 is most definitely going for that blockbuster movie experience. In an age where open worlds and non-linear stories get all the glory, it seems almost quaint that Uncharted 2’s game play and story unfold along a very strict course. It has a complex story about Marco Polo’s lost fleet in Borneo and an ancient treasure hidden in the Himalayas to tell, and there’s no time for open world dilly dallying with side quests. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, everyone, let’s start the meeting. Before you start talking about winning us Oscars, I’ve got the best idea for a movie ever. It’s about an alien race that lands on Earth, but they are actually “robots in disguise.” Catchy isn’t it? These large robot-alien things can have a civil war on Earth, because, well, we need a plot. And that will pretty much be the plot for the entire movie and all of the sequels — and there will be sequels.

Gratuitous Megan Fox picture after the jump … Read the rest of this entry »

As Joe Bardi pointed out last week: The critics really, really hated Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Even Peter Travers hated it — the same Peter Travers whose effusively positive blurbage from Rolling Stone is a staple of movie ads. The avuncular Roger Ebert didn’t pull any punches, either: “A horrible experience of unbearable length,” he called it. And Joe himself begged viewers not to subject themselves to ROTF.

But subject themselves they did, in box office record-breaking numbers. In a story in today’s Washington Post, Dan Zak acknowledges that summer blockbusters have always survived in spite of critics, but observes “there’s something astounding about the gap between Transformers‘ voluminous receipts and excoriating reviews.” Read the rest of this entry »

[Ed. note: Each week I'll be breaking down the big summer blockbuster movie releases. If you're curious about what's coming out in future weeks, be sure to check out the Summer Movie Preview. And for all things film, please check out our movie site.]

FRIDAY, MAY 29TH
Box office gold: Up
Worth seeing? You’re going to skip Pixar’s follow-up to WALL-E? The plot is simple: An old coot ties thousands of brilliantly animated balloons to his house, and takes off for adventure with a stow-away boy scout on board. The directors — Pete Docter, the director of Monsters, Inc., and Bob Peterson, the writer of Finding Nemo — are two Pixar vets who could pull this off in their sleep. To top it off, Up has already passed the snooty French smell test by being selected to open the Cannes Film Festival, the first time an animated film has enjoyed the time slot. Up should finish in the top three at the summer box office.
Counter-programming: Up’s brand of cute and cuddly Disney fun isn’t your bag? Check out Drag Me to Hell instead. Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) returns to his horror-movie roots with this tale of a loan officer (Alison Lohman) who is seriously cursed after she forecloses on old lady with a creepy eye to impress her boss. A warning to those hoping Hell matches the low-fi brilliance of Raimi’s Evil Dead movies: The preview is as glossy as it gets.

Previews after the jump …

Read the rest of this entry »

The Creative Loafing Summer Guide Release Party at Fly Bar promises to start the sultry season with a bang. The DJ duo Soft Rock Renegades spin a summer-rific playlist and take song requests via Twitter. Fly Bar provides hors d’oeuvres and drink specials, and there’s an exclusive “Meet the Winemaker” session with Van “The Vanimal” Williamson. To top it all off, we’re giving away the Summer Guide, your ultimate, all-in-one local list for what to do and where to go this summer, from theme parks to arts centers to the world’s top ten adult getaways.  And if you’d prefer to spend your summer vacation staying inside and watching movies, the guide provides the lowdown on how to rock the vote in CL’s Battle of the Summer Blockbusters. 6-9 p.m., Weds., May 20, Fly Bar and Restaurant, 1202 N. Franklin St., Tampa, 813-275-5000, flybarandrestaurant.com

The Women with Moxie Mixer encourages successful local businesswomen to mingle with their peers. This is no traditional mixer — these working women network in a relaxed environment to take building the business back to basics. Learn to make a lasting first impression, overcome stereotypes of women in the business world and, most importantly, learn to amp up your career. 7 p.m., Weds., May 20, The Grape, 2223 N. Westshore Blvd., Tampa, 813-354-9463, yourgrape.com.

Internationally celebrated artist Girard Louis Drouillard presents Reincarnate Metaphors, a collection of contemporary mixed-media paintings and conceptual installations. Pictured: An original work by Drouillard. Gallery hours 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tues.-Sat., through June 15, Salt Creek Artworks, 1600 Fourth St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-896-6594, saltcreekartworks.com.